It’s All About the Heart

It’s All About the Heart

Last time we talked about our hearts and how that is where it is determined whether we can focus on God or not. He puts the passion for Him in our hearts and He gives us the desire and discipline to focus our hearts and lives on Him.

It’s all about the heart and I want my heart to be all about Him. How about you?

We are talking more about the heart today. There are things about our hearts that we need to keep in mind as we go through this life – important things. We will be talking about 2 verses: Proverbs 4:23 and Jeremiah 17:9.

Proverbs 4:23 NIV

23″Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”

The Center of Who We Are

As we have talked about before, the heart (not the physical heart but the soul) is the center of who we are. We must protect it from corruption. There are some obvious ways to do that and then some come through prayer and God showing us things.

We know we need to stay away from people who will pull at us to compromise our beliefs and convictions, which does affect our hearts.

We need to spend time pursuing and getting to know God, His Word, and His ways. The best thing about that is, He pursues us first and continually!

We need to stay away from things/activities that hurt our hearts.

A personal example of that:

I shared earlier this week about the storm I have been going through for the last few months and I talked a little about the anxiety I have been experiencing. I really had to pray and seek God about what to do, I started counseling with our pastor and I have been spending more time with the Lord on a daily basis. At one point, I also realized that I needed to cut out TV murder mystery movies and shows. That helped some. Then, I cut out almost all TV unless David and I are spending time together. We like to watch movies once or twice a week – I did not cut that out. I am replacing the TV (which I was depending on to keep me company when he was at work) with Christian music. As a result, my anxiety level has dropped to almost nothing. It is as much, I am sure, what I am doing as what I am not doing, maybe more.

I firmly believe this is a result of changing what I was feeding my heart/soul. I struggle some because I am pretty addicted to TV but I know it is good for me at this time to cut most of it out.

Heart Health

I cannot expect my body to be healthy if I feed it mostly cardboard and plastic, huh? Neither can I expect my heart/soul to be healthy if I feed it mostly worthless food or toxic food. One, of many, differences between our hearts and our bodies is that our hearts are always consuming what they are exposed to. We can say that we are not going to eat that second piece of chocolate cake and still look at it all we want. But our hearts soak up what they “see”.

Guard Your Heart

Guard your heart because it is the core of who you are and it is the part of you that gets to know God – the wellspring of life! We can get to know about God with our minds but we get to know Him intimately with our hearts.

Jeremiah 17:9

9″The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”

Sayings

That really sounds harsh, doesn’t it?? Here is the thing – we hear these sayings flying around all the time:

“The heart wants what the heart wants.”

“Follow your heart.”

“I feel in my heart that this is right.”

“Trust your heart.”

This is a method of decision-making that totally leaves God out. This is a very flawed and dangerous way of approaching decisions and life. We cannot trust our hearts alone to lead us.

My heart is no reference tool for knowing God’s will for me or for anyone else. The Word of God is to be what we refer to. What God says and how He leads us must be the way we make decisions and walk through daily life.

We have talked about this verse in past entries:

John 14:26 “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

If we will seek Him, He will lead us. As I mentioned yesterday, if you need to talk with your pastor or a more mature Christian mentor, then do that. God has made a beautiful way for us to seek Him and follow Him.

We will not always do things perfectly and His wonderful grace and mercy are there for us at those times. He is looking at our hearts and when we are seeking Him, wanting His will, He will help us and have grace for us when we miss it.

Things to Ponder:

Is what you feed your heart/soul good for you? Or bad for you? Do you need to cut out some things? If so, what should you replace them with?

Have you caught your heart deceiving you? Do you ever use those little sayings about the heart that just sound so good but that do not agree with what God’s Word says?

You can ask God to help you apply His Word to your life and decision-making, by the power of the Holy Spirit who teaches us. He wants us to seek Him and His will.

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About Dell

Hi! Welcome to Tapestry! I am Dell Scruggs and I am a Christian. I have a deep passion for God and His Word. I also have a deep passion to grow and see others grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Quilting and watercolor are my favorite things to do in my spare time. I have an incredible husband, two amazing sons, two wonderful daughters-in-law and an absolutely adorable granddaughter!